Senator Murkowski’s Concerns About Election Integrity Are Valid—But Her Facts Are Wrong

Eighty-four percent of Americans believe you should prove citizenship before registering to vote. That includes most Democrats. Yet when the SAVE America Act came to the Senate floor to codify this common-sense principle into federal law, Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski voted no—citing concerns that sound reasonable on their face but crumble under scrutiny.

Let’s be clear from the start: Senator Murkowski is right about one thing. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our republic. Alaska’s unique geography presents real challenges that deserve serious consideration. The senator represents a state twice the size of Texas, with villages accessible only by plane or boat, where winter weather can isolate entire communities for months.

These are legitimate concerns that warrant legislative solutions, not obstruction.

But the senator’s characterization of the SAVE America Act contains multiple factual errors that mislead Alaskans and Americans about what this bill actually does. The people deserve the truth.

Setting the Record Straight

The House-backed legislation does not eliminate online voter registration. It preserves it. The bill explicitly directs that “the online voter registration system notifies the individual of the photo identification requirements…before the individual completes the online registration process.”

Currently registered voters face no new burdens whatsoever. The bill applies only “with respect to applications for voter registration which are submitted on or after” the effective date. Every American already on the rolls is grandfathered in. No one must dig up a birth certificate or re-register.

A passport is not required, contrary to the senator’s implication. It represents merely one option among several accepted documents. A birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or American Indian KIC card also qualifies when presented alongside a government photo ID.

And that recently married woman the senator worries about? She won’t lose her vote while waiting for updated documents. The bill allows her to sign an affidavit “attesting that the name on the documentation is a previous name of the applicant.”

Alaska’s Own Examples Don’t Hold Up

Senator Murkowski offers three compelling stories: an 18-year-old in Savoonga, an 85-year-old Native elder born before statehood, and a fisherman in Unalaska. Each scenario sounds troubling—until you examine what the bill actually requires.

The bill explicitly states that citizens who “cannot provide documentary proof of United States citizenship” may sign an attestation “under penalty of perjury” and “submit such other evidence” for official review. The teenager in Savoonga doesn’t need to fly anywhere.

The 85-year-old elder? If she’s already registered, she’s grandfathered in completely. If she needs to register for the first time or re-register after moving, Alaska has maintained birth records since 1913. The state operates a procedure specifically for home births, allowing certificate requests by mail or online without leaving remote communities. And if even that documentation has vanished, the bill’s attestation provision still enables her registration.

The Unalaska fisherman presents perhaps the weakest case. The senator claims his nearest option sits 800 miles away in Anchorage. Yet Alaska maintains provisions for remote voter registration locations. A state-authorized DMV partner processed tags and titles in Unalaska this year from late January through February. That same infrastructure could handle driver’s licenses and voter registration documentation.

Unalaska also operates a public library—one of the designated locations where Alaskans register to vote throughout the state.

The Proof Alaska Already Has the System

Here’s what the senator conveniently omits: Alaska already operates the exact system this bill requires.

Alaska automatically registers voters through its Permanent Fund Dividend program—a benefit more than 80 percent of Alaskans apply for annually, in every village across the state. The dividend goes to both citizens and permanent residents. The initial application requires applicants to present in person or mail in an original birth certificate, passport, naturalization certificate, or other immigration documents.

When documents arrive by mail, the state verifies eligibility and returns them in a self-addressed, stamped envelope the state provides.

The infrastructure Senator Murkowski calls impossible already exists and reaches every community she claims to worry about.

Alaska’s Own Website Exposes the Problem

One critical element is missing from Alaska’s current system—the very fix the SAVE America Act provides.

Alaska’s automatic voter registration operates through the annual Permanent Fund Dividend application, not the initial application that requires citizenship documentation. This creates a dangerous gap. Alaska registers noncitizen voters who apply for the payment.

Don’t take my word for it. Alaska’s own election website warns: “Just because you received a Voter Identification Card, does not mean you are a U.S. Citizen.”

The site then instructs non-citizens who received voter registration anyway: “When you fill out your PFD, you are automatically registered to vote. If you are not a U.S. Citizen, contact the Division of Elections so they can cancel your voter registration.”

Read that again. Alaska registers people first and asks them to cancel themselves later if they aren’t citizens. This represents precisely the concern Americans harbor about noncitizens inadvertently—or intentionally—registering to vote.

Senator Murkowski’s own state provides the prime example of the problem. Requiring proof of citizenship solves it.

A Path Forward Through Amendment

The senator’s strongest concerns merit attention and can be addressed through amendments rather than a no vote. This approach is called legislating. Congress used to practice it regularly.

First, accommodate Alaska’s geography. Write Alaska’s dividend model directly into federal law, allowing Alaskans to provide proof of citizenship by mail in addition to in person. If this process suffices to send dividend checks, it works for voter registration.

Second, adjust the timeline realistically. Arizona, Wyoming, and several other states already require documentary proof for registration. For those states, compliance happens almost instantly. The bill will finally allow Arizona to eliminate the “federal-only” ballots a 2013 Supreme Court ruling forced upon them.

The most common registration method nationwide occurs at DMV offices, which already collect these documents for REAL ID issuance. Grocery stores and gas stations train teenagers to verify photo identification in a single shift.

Alaska stands better positioned than most states since it already collects documentation through its dividend program and uses the annual Permanent Fund Dividend applications for voter registration. Alaska simply needs to add one verification step: confirming the registrant is actually a citizen.

The requirement applies only to new registrations going forward. Everyone currently registered continues voting under grandfather provisions. Alaska can implement this system quickly—not instantaneously, but certainly without the years-long delay the senator suggests.

Third, clarify accountability provisions. The senator worries about lawsuits against election officials. But consider our current situation: no requirement exists to verify citizenship at registration, and no real enforcement mechanism backs the existing law barring noncitizen voting.

For the first time, this bill creates genuine deterrence against bad actors who deliberately break the law, with penalties sufficient to prevent damage before it occurs. The honest clerk following the bill’s attestation process or making an inadvertent clerical error is not the target and faces no liability. Minor adjustments can distinguish honest mistakes from intentional malfeasance while maintaining accountability for those who deliberately circumvent the law.

The House reconciliation package includes $10 billion to assist states with implementation, plus $50 million to issue REAL IDs free to low-income Americans. The resources Senator Murkowski requests already exist.

The Obligation to Legislate

Senator Murkowski filed amendments because she wants this done correctly. So do we. The Tea Party Patriots Action has invested two and a half years developing this legislation. We traveled through 20 states by bus over three weeks gathering support. We have stood in Alaska making this case directly to her constituents.

No one is asking the senator to abandon Alaska’s interests. We’re asking her to help craft a version that works for Alaska—and then vote yes.

The principle is straightforward and commands overwhelming support: Only American citizens should vote in American elections.

The senator says she supports this principle. Now is the moment to act on that support. Work with us. File amendments that address Alaska’s legitimate needs. Negotiate in good faith. Then cast the vote that protects the integrity of American elections while serving your state’s unique circumstances.

This is how the Senate is supposed to function—finding common ground through the legislative process rather than hiding behind exaggerated obstacles and misleading characterizations of what a bill contains.

Senator Murkowski has an opportunity to lead on election integrity while ensuring Alaska’s remote communities maintain full access to the franchise. That’s a legacy worth pursuing.

The question is whether she’ll seize it—or whether she’ll continue manufacturing excuses to avoid doing what 84 percent of Americans, including most Democrats, already support.

Let’s finish the job together.